


Where

by AutisticWriter



Series: Cuddles [14]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Doctor (Doctor Who), Dyspraxia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explosives, Fear, Fluff and Angst, Forehead Touching, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Gendervague Character, Gendervague Seventh Doctor, Happy Ending, Hugs, Injury, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Parent-Child Relationship, Parental Seventh Doctor, Prompt Fill, Sensory Overload, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 23:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12804540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Whilst on an adventure in 21st century England, the Doctor loses Ace. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but what with the Daleks roaming the streets and the inept military trying to blow things up, the Doctor can’t help but worry about her. They just hope they can find her…Cuddle number 14: In public





	Where

“So, where are we, Professor?” Ace asks, staring at the picture on the view screen. It is very green; they must be sitting in some sort of field.

The Doctor checks the scanner with one hand, the other tapping against their chin. “Kent, England. Sometime in the early 21st century by the looks of it. If I had to estimate, I would say around 2005.”

“Wicked!” Ace says, and it always amuses the Doctor to see her get excited about the most trivial of things. “It’s always cool to see Earth in different time periods. Everything is different but lots of things are the same.”

“Yes,” the Doctor mutters. “Such as the human ability to destroy this planet with non-renewable energy and pollution.”

Ace grins. “If you’re done moaning about humans, do you want to look outside?”

The Doctor smiles, and pulls the lever to open the doors. The cool spring air hits their face and they sigh with contentment. They take their umbrella from the hat stand and plonk their hat on their head.

“Right, then,” they say, turning to Ace. “Let’s go.”

They step out of the TARDIS, only to see a trio of Daleks travelling along a country lane. Ace gasps and the Doctor’s legs suddenly feel wobbly, leaning against the doorframe. And then they snap into action.

“Right, change of plan!” the Doctor says, and they both rush back inside the TARDIS and dematerialise before they can be spotted.

\---

From the direction the Daleks were travelling, the Doctor manages to plot their next position. They materialise the TARDIS in a town centre, checking the view screen for an absence of Daleks before stepping outside. But what they find is rather disturbing. Because, despite it being the middle of the day, the place is completely deserted.

“It’s like something out of a zombie film,” Ace says, her defensive body language telling the Doctor that she is worried.

And they don’t blame her. Seeing a normally thriving town completely empty is quite scary. Just what has happened here? They need to try and find someone, to find out what has happened here.

The Doctor glances around and their eyes focus on an empty car. It must be abandoned just like everything else, so would it do any harm if they and Ace were to borrow it? Probably not.

\---

“Daleks,” Ace mutters, shuffling awkwardly in the passenger seat of the car that the Doctor totally hasn’t stolen. “Why is it always naffing Daleks?”

The Doctor raises an eyebrow, keeping their eyes focused on the road. “I think you might be exaggerating slightly, Ace. After all, this is only the second time you’ve met the Daleks.”

“Yeah, and that’s two times more than most people,” she says. “It’s almost like they haven’t got anything better to do than attack Earth.”

The Doctor shifts the car into third gear, rather enjoying the sensory experience of driving a manually operated vehicle. They think of the many occasion throughout time in which the Daleks try to attack or even invade Earth and say, “Sometimes, I really think they don’t.”

They hear Ace chuckle. “So what’re we going to do, Professor?”

The Doctor smiles. “Isn’t it obvious? We need to find the military before they try and take on the Daleks themselves. Because the military always turn up for things like this, but there is no way they will win. The only thing is, will they listen to me?”

Ace sighs, clearly remembering how much easier things are if the authorities just do what the Doctor says. “I hope so.”

\---

They use the military to find the Daleks, simply following a large group of soldiers through the industrial area of the town. After all, soldiers don’t go walking in Kent like this for no reason. The soldiers stop by a huge old abandoned factory, so tall it could easily be a tower block. The Doctor and Ace sneak up on them all, and manage to overhear some of their conversation.

“All right, men,” says a man who must be a captain. “The hostiles are inside this building. The whole town has been evacuated, and defensive action needs to be taken. We still don’t know what is in here, but from the appearance of the bodies found on the ground floor, they were killed by weapons never seen before. So I think it goes without saying that they should be treated as extremely dangerous.”

The Doctor and Ace retreat slightly, and the Doctor says, “That doesn’t sound good. Unfamiliar weapons and suspicious deaths. Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Ace?”

“That we’ve found the Daleks?” she says.

The Doctor nods. “Exactly. Now let us stop this before they do something dangerous.”

Raising their hands in a defensive position, the Doctor hurries over to the cluster of soldiers. Almost instantly, dozens of guns are pointed at them and Ace, who stands just behind them. Despite the fear having guns pointed at them induces, the Doctor smiles pleasantly and walks further towards them.

“Who the hell are you?!” cries the man who is definitely a captain, given the stripes on his jacket. “And how did you get inside the evacuated zone?”

The answer is obvious to the Doctor and Ace, but they don’t say this. “We just did. But that isn’t important. It is vital you listen to me, sir. There is—”

“What do you mean it isn’t important?” the Captain says, exasperated. “How did you get here?”

“We snuck past your soldiers, all right?” Ace says, slightly too snappy.

The Captain doesn’t seem very impressed. “Seriously?” He sighs. “Look, I suppose you’re right. Why you are here isn’t actually important. I just need someone to escort you back out. It isn’t safe here.”

“I know that, Captain…?”

“Williams,” the Captain supplies, and the Doctor smiles.

“Thank you. Yes, I know that, Captain Williams. But there is a problem. I can’t just leave here. I know what you are up against, and I know you need my help. So I can’t leave.”

Captain Williams sighs. “Do you seriously expect me to believe that?”

The Doctor sighs too, pinching the bridge of their nose. “Yes, I do. I know how sceptical humans can be, but this is important. I know that your hostiles are not humans and possess weapons more powerful than any awful weapons you have on Earth. I know how easily they can kill anything humanoid; I know how they killed those poor people inside the factory. And I know their weak spots. Because I have met them before. Now you can be naïve and ignore me, or you can listen to me and possibly stand a chance at surviving this. Do you understand?”

It is only when they finish speaking that the Doctor realises how loudly they were talking. Their voice rose in volume and became more and more biting as they rambled, talking a bit too fast. They didn’t mean to sound like that, but they just had to get their point across. They need this human to understand.

Captain Williams stares at them, before turning to look at Ace. She nods slightly, confirming everything the Doctor just said.

“I know this sounds very confusing,” the Doctor says, more quietly this time. “But I need you to understand. Countless lives depend on it.”

“But… how can I trust you?” Williams says. “How can I know you aren’t in it with those killers? Who even are you?”

“I am the Doctor, my dear Captain,” they say, offering him a hand. The Captain shakes their hand, and their leather gloves feel horrible against their sweaty palm. “And you have to trust me. Those things in there are enemies of mine. They would probably kill me quicker than they would you.”

“It’s all true,” Ace says, nodding her head. “They’re telling the truth. I’ve met them too.”

The Captain sighs again, pinching the bridge of his nose just like the Doctor did. “Fine. So, what exactly are these things?”

“They are called Daleks. They are an alien race who—”

“Aliens? Don’t talk rubbish, Doctor,” Williams scoffs.

The Doctor sighs and hits the end of their umbrella against the ground. “I am not talking rrrubish, Captain. Of course they are aliens. Look, would you believe me if I could tell you exactly what they look like? After all, I have not seen them yet today. But I can tell you exactly what they look like.”

Williams still looks like he doesn’t believe a word they are saying. “I… suppose so.”

And so the Doctor gives an in depth infodump about the Daleks, their appearance and how they work. They even draw a rough diagram of a Dalek on a piece of paper, all whilst tapping their foot against the floor and cursing humans for being so sceptical about alien life.

When they have finished, they shove the drawing at the Captain. “There, it looks like that. Have any of your men seen what is inside the factory?”

The Captain turns to the sergeant stood beside him, who seems to be in charge of the notes for this mission. “Has anyone seen inside the factory, Sergeant?”

“No, sir, but a civilian did,” says the sergeant, looking down at a notebook. “She gave us a description of one of them as it entered the factory. Apparently, it tried to shoot at her with a laser.”

“And, what did this thing look like?” he asks.

“She described it as a ‘big grey metal thing that looked like a pepper pot’, sir.”

Slowly, Williams turns back around. He looks at the diagram once more, and then at the Doctor. “Very well, Doctor. I believe you. But now what do we do?”

Relieved, but also irritated that it took this long to be believed, the Doctor smiles. “We take them out before they kill us.”

\---

Against the Doctor’s wishes, Captain Williams sends thirty of his men inside the factory to attack and count the number of Daleks inside. The Doctor sits on the cold concrete ground and sighs, resting their elbow on their knee and their chin on their hand. They know what is going to happen, but the Captain wouldn’t listen. So it seems he is going to have to learn the hard way.

Ace sits beside them, shivering slightly. But it isn’t very cold out here, so her shivers must be from fear.

“Ace, you’re not carrying any of that Nitro 9, are you?” they say, their lips twitching into a small smile.

“Of course not, Professor,” Ace says, smiling cheekily.

“Well, I need you to be prepared to use some,” the Doctor says. “After all, we know it is effective against Daleks.”

Ace grins. “Of course, Professor.”

They sit there for several more minutes, trying to block out the sounds of gunfire coming from the factory. And then the doors open and several soldiers stumble back outside. The Doctor counts only nine of them.

“What happened?” Captain Williams cries, helping one young man to sit down before he collapses.

“They attacked us,” says the young soldier, his head flopping backwards. “Our guns did nothing. We didn’t stand a chance.”

“Then there is only one option,” the Captain says, turning to his surviving soldiers. “We will have to blow them up.”

The Doctor and Ace look at each other. Ace should be excited by the prospect of exploding an entire derelict factory, but she just looks melancholy. After all, they both knew what was going to happen. But it still hurts to know that so many people are dead. And the Doctor hopes the Captain’s plan will work, because even more people will die if he fails.

They just hate the Daleks so much. Why do they take such pleasure in death and destruction? One way or another, they need to be stopped.

\---

Inside the building, the remaining soldiers rush around setting explosive charges. Ace is only too happy to help, and is allowed to help place some explosives on the ground floor. Others are up near the top, having to sneak around to avoid the Daleks. After all, they now all know just how dangerous the Daleks are. As if to prove the point, the Daleks are making a lot of noise inside the factory, shooting their lasers everywhere. More people must be dying, because they occasionally hear agonised screams, as well as gunfire.

The Doctor stands outside beside Captain Williams, in their new location over a hundred meters away from the factory. They clasp their hands together, watching the soldiers file out of the building and regroup with the Captain.

The Captain keeps talking into his radio, communicating with a commanding officer back at his base. And the Doctor keeps feeling horribly anxious, knowing what might happen if this doesn’t work.

As more soldiers leave the building, the crowd around the Doctor and the Captain gets larger. They are all talking, their guns making loud clunking noises as they put in new bullets, and all of the noise is starting to hurt the Doctor’s ears. But despite the number of soldiers now surrounding them (the Captain must have received reinforcements), the Doctor has yet to see Ace return. Their young companion is probably just enjoying herself to be using a military grade explosive, but she can’t stay inside forever. Because, very soon, the whole building will implode, crushing everything inside.

And then the last soldier leaves the building, and the Doctor really starts to worry. Have they just left Ace inside? And now all of the soldiers have left, will the Captain just detonate? With Ace probably still inside?

As the soldiers all crowd around them, the Doctor finds themself getting separated from Captain Williams. They grip their umbrella tightly, trying to stay calm in the crowd of soldiers who are all taller than them. They are starting to feel quite trapped, something that only happens when they are nearing a panic attack. And they really hope that won’t happen.

“Everyone present and accounted for!”

The Doctor spins around as they hear someone yell those words, having to shout to be heard over the increasingly loud noise. How can they say that? Yes, all of the men are now accounted for, but what about Ace? Just where is she?

“Did anyone see Ace leave?” they say, rushing through the crowd towards the Captain.

“What?” the Captain shouts, barely able to hear anything over the noise of the crowd and the Daleks doing serious damage to the building. He turns back to his radio, and the Doctor hears him yell, “All charges are in place.”

“Did anyone see Ace leave the building?” the Doctor says, their voice rising in volume.

“I don’t think so,” says a sergeant, tightening the strap on his helmet.

The Doctor stares at him, panic starting to grip at their chest. Where is she? Is she still in the building?

“Captain, where is she?”

The Captain doesn’t respond, talking into his radio. “Ready to detonate on your command, sir.”

The Doctor stands to their full height (which isn’t very high, admittedly), trying to make him notice them. He has to answer.

“Captain Williams!”

When they still get no response, they hit the Captain’s arm with the handle of their umbrella. Finally, Captain Williams looks at them, frowning.

“What are you saying, Doctor?” he shouts, the noise getting louder.

The Doctor groans, trying to block out the horribly loud noise, lest they go into sensory overload. Because they really don’t have time for that.

“Did any of you see Ace leave the building?”

“I’m not sure. Why?”

The Doctor has to use all their strength not to snap at him. “Because you can’t blow the building up if Ace is still inside.”

“Doctor, I understand your concern,” the Captain says. “But we don’t know for certain if Miss McShane is inside the building, and we cannot postpone this. We may be risking your friend’s life, but doing this will save everyone in England. Do you understand?”

Of course the Doctor understands. Their brain runs on logic, and they understand the world of ethics and how it is always the ethical thing to sacrifice one life to save many. But none of this matters in this moment. Because this is Ace McShane, and the Doctor can’t just stand here whilst Captain Williams implodes the building and kills everything inside. And that isn’t just because they know this might not even destroy the Daleks; that is what they tell themself, but the Doctor knows this is all about Ace. They cannot risk her life. They need to know she is safe before the Captain detonates the explosives.

“Yes, I understand,” they say, gritting their teeth. They grip the handle of their umbrella so hard their knuckles go white and stiff. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

The Captain sighs and puts his radio to his ear again. The Doctor hears the rumble of speech, and then Williams says, “Yes, sir, we’re just doing the last few checks.”

The Doctor starts to drum their fingers against the handle of their umbrella, still gritting their jaw. They don’t know what to do – other than worry and hope they won’t have a meltdown from the increasing bombardment of emotional and sensory overload.

“Right,” says Captain Williams, picking up his megaphone. “Listen closely, men!”

With the combination of the booming noise coming out of the megaphone and the thud of dozens of people all standing to attention at once, the Doctor lets out a small whimpering sound. They stick their fingers in their ears, gritting their teeth so hard their jaw starts to hurt.

“Has everyone returned from inside the building?” When all his soldiers respond, Williams smiles. “Excellent. Peterson and Marks, prepare to detonate. Everyone stand back.”

The Doctor stares at him, feeling sick. He is really going to do it. What if Ace is still inside?

The two sergeants kneel down and twist switches on a small control panel.

Williams holds the megaphone back up to his mouth. “The explosives will detonate in sixty seconds. Everyone get down!”

They don’t know why they do it, but they do. As the soldiers all lie on their stomachs and cover their heads with their arms, the Doctor slips past them and runs towards the building. They might be able to do a check and get back out in sixty seconds. It is an extremely idiotic plan, but they aren’t thinking rationally anymore. All they know is that they are almost having a meltdown and a panic attack all at once, and Ace might be about to die.

The Doctor’s arms flail as they run, something that always happens (dyspraxia can be rather irritating sometimes). They try to count down the seconds, but they might just have lost track. And then someone spots them, and they have to run even faster.

“Where are you going?” calls one of the soldiers.

And then they hear Williams, his voice angry as he yells, “Doctor! Get back here!”

But the Doctor doesn’t answer him, let alone obey. They rush right up to the doors and push them open, stepping into the shell of what used to be a factory. Everything is dirty and broken, and the Doctor sees one of the explosive charges stuck to the wall. They swallow hard, letting their hands flap in a futile attempt to keep calm.

“Ace!” they call, and their voice shakes. “Ace! Are you here?”

The Doctor can hear Daleks moving around upstairs, rather heavy for the creaky old floorboards. It still terrifies them to know that Daleks can now go upstairs. The Daleks can probably hear them too, but they don’t care.

“Ace?” they shout, louder this time. Their voice cracks, and they don’t know how much longer they can suppress this meltdown. “Ace!?”

The front door creaks open and they jump, their hearts pounding so fast they feel the palpitations in their neck. The Doctor turns around, anticipating an attack, but instead finds one of the soldiers looking at them.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hisses, out of breath from chasing after them. “You need to get out of here.”

“But…” the Doctor trails off, not knowing what they want to say. The only thing they can think of is ‘Ace’.

“But nothing. Come with me, now!”

The young man grabs their arm, and it feels like hot needles to their overwhelmed senses. The Doctor cries out, well aware of how ridiculous they must look right now, practically having a meltdown in front of a stranger. The solider pulls hard on their arm and starts to drag them out of the building. They yell Ace’s name once more, before accepting defeat and following him outside.

“Hurry!” yells the Captain, using that horrible megaphone again.

The Doctor wants to cry, their legs heavy and their feet scuffing the ground as they run, the solider still gripping their arm. The Doctor stumbles, nearly falling, and the soldier carries on running, leaving them several paces behind. They drag themself back to their feet, but their movements are sluggish and they can barely coordinate their limbs. But they force their legs to move, and manage to stagger along after the man who so carelessly abandoned them.

They are only halfway back to the base when the explosion goes off. The force hits the Doctor hard in the back, knocking them to the ground. They bang their head against the concrete, and their last thought is of Ace as pain explodes through their skull and they fall into unconsciousness.

\---

“How are they?”

“Better than earlier. He—”

“They.”

“They, sorry. They are stable and their pulse seems to be normal. At least, normal for what you told me about their body working…”

The Doctor slowly drifts into consciousness, able to hear two people talking. One is masculine and rough, and the other is feminine and somewhat anxious. And, judging from the pronoun use, they seem to talking about them.

And then the Doctor remembers what happened, remembering falling and getting knocked unconscious from the force of the explosion.

The explosion!

There was a reason why they went back inside the building. They were looking for Ace. And if they aren’t mistaken, one of those voices sounds very much like…

The Doctor opens their eyes, immediately finding it difficult to focus their vision. Their head hurts, their arm hurts even more, and they feel nauseous, but none of that matters. Because, sat beside them, is Ace. Ace is here! She is safe. She is alive.

“Ace,” they mumble, finding it very difficult to form words.

Ace turns her head and the biggest grin forms on her face. “Professor! You’re awake.”

“And you’re alive,” the Doctor says.

“What are you talking about?” she says.

“I… uh…” the Doctor trails off, not knowing what to say.

The man who must be a medic given the red cross on his uniform sighs. “Miss McShane, your friend here got injured trying to look for you. They thought you were still inside the building and begged Captain Williams to let them check before he detonated. But they went inside regardless and got knocked unconscious from the force of the explosion.”

Ace stares at the Doctor. Her face goes tense and they wonder if she might cry. But instead, she reaches for the Doctor’s hand, raising it and then clasping it between both of her own. The Doctor seems plasters stuck to their fingers, and a sharp pain shoots down their arm. Their other arm is wrapped in bandages, so this must be their ‘good’ hand. But it still hurts to move.

But the Doctor doesn’t move their hand away, letting Ace squeeze their hand tightly. They look up at her, watching Ace bite her bottom lip and scrunch her eyes up. Is she trying not to cry?

“Ace?” they whisper, trying to sound reassuring even though it hurts to talk and their head is pounding with concussion.

Ace opens her eyes again. She smiles, but her lips are trembling. “Doctor…”

She used their real name. She only does that when she is deadly serious.

“Doctor, you got yourself hurt for me?” she says. “You were trying to look for me? And you got hurt.”

They nod and then screw their eyes up, pain shooting through their head. “How hurt?”

“A scalp wound, a concussion and a broken wrist,” says the medic.

The Doctor knows they are very lucky that the injuries are not more severe. But they are more relieved that Ace is alive.

“I can’t believe it,” Ace says, and she lets out a spluttering sound that is suspiciously similar to a sob. “I’m so sorry, Professor.”

“Don’t say that,” the Doctor says, forcing their eyes open again. Ace still isn’t crying, but she looks agonised. “Not your fault.”

“But I wasn’t even inside there. I went out the back to escape this Dalek that was chasing me. I got away just in time. I was perfectly safe, Professor. I just wish I’d managed to tell you. Then none of this would have happened.”

They can’t stand seeing Ace like this, so upset and distraught. “Ssh. Don’t say that.”

Despite the medic’s orders, the Doctor props themself up by their elbow and looks at Ace. and, as tears shine in their eyes, the Doctor and Ace hug. They pat her back with their good hand, whilst Ace’s hand goes to the back of their neck, cradling their head close to her own. She leans their foreheads together, something the Doctor used to do with Mel when one of them was hurt or upset. And the Doctor closes their eyes, trying to ignore the pain and just focus on their friend. Ace, their closest friend, the young woman they care about as though she was their daughter, is safe and alive and with them. And they don’t care that people can see them hugging, because this is just them hugging their daughter, reminding their concussed brain that she is here with them, and that she isn’t going anywhere. She is safe, and they are just so relieved.

\---

Once the Doctor is deemed safe to move, they bid their goodbyes and leave Williams and the military to clean up the mess. It doesn’t look like the Daleks will be attacking Earth in this place and time again for a long while. Ace drives the borrowed car this time and the Doctor slumps in the passenger seat, their broken wrist throbbing and their head still sore with concussion. When they finally return to the TARDIS, the Doctor has barely dematerialised the TARDIS before they drop to the floor.

“Professor?” Ace cries, kneeling down beside them.

The Doctor smiles weakly. “Don’t fret, Ace. Just a healing coma. See you soon.”

And they let their body go into a coma, their body temperature dropping as they enter a state of fast healing. Soon their injuries will have been healed, and they and Ace will be able to move on from what happened.

\---

Several hours later, the Doctor awakes feeling cold but healed. Ace is still sat beside them, her hands wrapped around her baseball bat.

“What are you doing with that?” they say weakly, easing their stiff body upright.

“Just protecting you,” Ace says.

The Doctor smiles and she puts the bat down.

“Are you feeling better now?”

They nod. “Much better.”

Ace gives them another hug. “I’m so glad. And Professor?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for caring about me.”

The Doctor smiles fondly, tapping Ace on the nose. “You too. Thank you, Ace.”

And Ace smiles broadly, but her eyes shine with unshod tears. “No problem, Professor. No problem.”


End file.
